Most disgruntled, Jedi were, yesterday, when they learned they are not recognised as a religious group despite outnumbering Sikhs, Jews and Buddhists on the census forms.

In a move Star Wars fans described as "almost religious persecution", officials said they had counted the 390,000 people who identified themselves as Jedi among the 7.7m who said they had no religion.

Jedi make up 0.7% of the population, while Christians number 42m (72%) and Muslims 1.6m (3%). But those who have chosen the faith, portrayed in the George Lucas films, outnumber the 329,000 Sikhs, 260,000 Jews and 144,000 Buddhists who filled in forms.

Officials blamed the large numbers on an email which suggested, wrongly, that Jedi would be officially recognised as a religion if more than 10,000 people cited it. "I think it was not a particularly serious answer," said Len Cook, registrar general for England and Wales.

But Andy New, of the UK's official Star Wars fan club, said: "People should be allowed to classify themselves how they want."

Asked if he was not being presumptuous in deciding what was and was not a religion, Mr Cook said that, like Yoda, left, he acted "with immense consultation and remarkable concentration".